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Name
mohamad zaki
- Malaysia
Profession
student
Question
As-Salamu `Alaykum sir, can you explain to me what it is all about?
Answer
As-Salamu `Alaykum sir, can you explain to me what it is all about?
The MCB (Muslim Council of Britain) has produced 500,000 copies of a new Pocket Guide for British Muslims called 'Know Your Rights And Responsibilities'.
You can download a copy in PDF format from the MCB website at:
The Pocket Guide has sixteen very short pages and seeks to summarise some of our most important duties towards each other, our fellow citizens and our country while also highlighting the rights that British Muslims have if they are stopped and searched by the police, or if they are arrested under the anti-terror legislation etc.
There have been some major changes in the law in recent years and many British Muslims may be unaware of these. The Pocket Guide should help bridge this gap in knowledge, insha' Allah.
It also lists the contact details of the main media outlets in the UK so that Muslims can seek immediate corrections for any errors made in the reporting of Islam and Muslims.
The Pocket Guide should be viewed overall as a call for greater interaction and engagement with the wider British society so that Muslims can fulfill their true potential and work for the common good of everyone who lives in these Isles.
Name
saba
- United States
Profession
nothing
Question
what we do in 15of shaban & r we suppose to do soom(roza) too?
Answer
Editor:
This session is not dedicated to answering question of fatwa nature. Please re-submit your question at Ask the Scholar service. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Name
Mona
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Do you think that human rights as well as civil liberties violations can be faced by just clarifying the rights of Muslims? I do appreciate your goals to help Muslims deal better with critical situations, but I still believe the Muslim communities in Europe are in need of overall awareness of what is required to be done in the upcoming period of time. Has there been any attempt to fulfill that?
Answer
The MCB Pocket Guide should be seen as an additional tool towards helping British Muslims become better informed about their rights and responsibilities and also what steps to take if they believe their rights have been violated.
You mentioned the 'rights of Muslims': we have been very careful to ensure that the Pocket Guide is about 'rights AND responsibilities'. The two are clearly interlinked and should not be decoupled.
You rightly make mention of 'civil liberties violations'. One of the most worrying features of our post 9/11 world is how some governments have enacted legislation which at any other time would have been regarded as undermining democratic traditions.
The Muslim Council of Britain has recently submitted detailed papers to the government outlining our community's concerns about the 'Anti-Terrorism Crime & Security Act 2001' and also the need for the government to introduce legislation outlawing Religious Discrimination. See the following links for the MCB submissions:
Alhamdulillah, you may have heard that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in his speech on Tuesday 28th September 2004 to the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, finally announced that the government was indeed going to introduce legislation outlawing religious discrimination. This is a landmark move and one for which the MCB has campaigned vocally for some years now.
Name
Muneeb
-
Profession
Question
What are the main aspects does this civil liberties guide address?
Answer
The Muslim Council of Britain's Pocket Guide on 'Know Your Rights And Responsibilities' contains sixteen very short pages with the following section headings:
- Working for the Common Good
- Media Portrayal of Islam and Muslims
- Challenging Islamophobia and Discrimination
- Political Participation
- Education
- Rights As Worker/Employee
- Vigilance And The Terror Threat
- Maintaining Safety of Islamic Institutions
- Stop & Search Powers Of The Police
- Police Search of Your Home
- Rights If Arrested
- Police Powers At Ports (e.g. Airport)
So as you can see it is quite ambitious in scope and will, insha' Allah, prove to be an essential guide for British Muslims and will, we hope, encourage them to play a greater role at all levels of British society.
Name
Sahima
- Belgium
Profession
Question
As everybody knows the issue of hijab is one of the hottest issues now in Europe. I know a lot of sisters who don't understand the legal aspect of it. Does the pocket guide address this issue?
Answer
Yes. The section in the MCB Pocket Guide on 'Education' highlights that schools in the UK are expected to ensure that their uniform policy is sensitive to the Islamic dress code.
This should allow children to dress modestly and wear the hijab if they so wish.
The actual Department for Education & Skills guidelines is fairly explicit on this point. They state:
"that uniform policy must be sensitive to differences and the need to adhere to dress for racial or religious reasons.
A pupil should not be disciplined for refusing to adhere to a uniform for religious reasons, and that exclusion on these grounds is even less appropriate."
Name
Khalid
-
Profession
Question
Why do think Muslims need a pocket guide identifying their duties and rights?
Answer
Recent months and years have been very turbulent ones for British Muslims.
The combined impact of the high-profile anti-terror raids, the huge increase in police 'stop and search' activities, the illegal war against Iraq, and the seemingly constant denigration of Islam and its followers in the media have left many British Muslims feeling understandably worried and even fearful.
The MCB Pocket Guide seeks to reassure British Muslims about their rights and remind them also of the responsibilities that we all share to help build a more just and cohesive society.
For example, as the Secretary of the MCB's Media Committee, I often come across Muslims who are unhappy with the way they are portrayed in the newspapers and on television. Well, the MCB Pocket Guide equips these Muslims with all the relevant phone numbers and email addresses of the main media organisations so in future they can try and obtain the necessary corrections themselves.
The Pocket Guide urges greater 'self-help' and will, insha' Allah, empower many more members of the British Muslim community with the confidence and skills to engage positively with other sectors of society.
Name
Muslim
-
Profession
Question
What is the best and fastest way to voice your concern to the Prime Minister himself?
Answer
Write to him at 10 Downing Street, London, SW1.
You may be surprised to hear that you should definitely get a reply (provided that your letter is sensible and not deliberately abusive or insulting).
Name
Amani
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
The issue of homeland security is very confusing and alarming. As many sheikhs and Muslims intellectuals have been stopped at the borders or at the airlines and they were denied entry to the United States, last of which is Yusuf Islam. If they are defining every act as "homeland security", then I think it is very hard to deal with it from a legal point of view? Do you agree? Or there are Loopholes for it?
Answer
The refusal of the USA to allow Yusuf Islam entry was just the latest and most explicit example of how the US authorities appear to have gone over the top on the issue of national security.
As you may know, the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, raised this issue the same day with his US counterpart, Colin Powell, and made it clear that the US should not have acted in that manner.
Our MCB Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Abdul Bari, was widely quoted in the media as describing the US action against Yusuf Islam as a 'slap in the face of sanity'.
Still, we have to persevere and try and reason in a patient manner with the relevant authorities in order to convince them that such arbitrary decisions and their associated lack of transparency will only prove counterproductive and serve to criminalise many innocent Muslims.
Name
Fatima
-
Profession
Question
If you see an article defaming Muslims in the media, can you suggest for us a short paragraph that we can send to the editor?
Answer
Go to the website of the Muslim Council of Britain at the following address and select 'Media' from the menu on the right hand side of the page:
From there you will see a number of additional sections including one called 'Letters to the editor/producer'.
This section contains real life letters that the MCB has sent out so you should be able to pick up a few tips through reading a selection of them.
Name
Sister
-
Profession
Question
If a Muslim girl acted violently if someone harassed her or pulled out her hijab, I mean slap, beat (esp. if a relative is accompanying her) would she be accountable before the law?
Answer
Yes, she would be held accountable. The MCB's Pocket Guide has a section called 'Challenging Islamophobia and Discrimination' and it offers the following advice:
"If you or a fellow Muslim is attacked, threatened or intimidated because of your faith, report the matter to the police immediately...take particular care to make a detailed note of supporting evidence. Remain calm. Never respond in a violent or aggressive manner."
Name
Mahmoud
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
I really appreciate the work you are doing in MCB, but I have one suggestion that I would like to comment on. It is good to inform Muslims to contact the media and provide the phone numbers and e-mails; that is a great job, masha’Allah. But what is more important is to educate the Muslims on how to write to the media. I could tell you, brother Inayat, that more than 90 percent of Muslims, when writing to the media, use derogatory and defamatory language and all most of the letters they write tend to just vent anger.
Answer
Last Saturday (25th September 2004), the Media Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain organised a special one-day seminar on 'A Guide To The British Media' at the brand new London Muslim Centre, in Whiechapel, London.
See the following link for more details about the actual programme and speakers that day:
Two of the speakers, Michael Binyon (The Times) and Ewen Macaskill (The Guardian) said that their respective newspapers receive far more letters than they have the space to publish. In fact, both papers only publish one in twenty of the letters they actually receive.
They both advised that ideally letters to newspapers should not be much more than three paragraphs long and should address a story that was printed in the newspaper ASAP.
I am not sure where you obtain your '90%' figure from, but agree with you that if bad language is used then it is highly unlikely that such a letter would be published.
It is always best to be polite (and firm also, if necessary).
Name
Muslimah
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
If a Muslim girl was denied entry in school because of her hijab, and her parents talked to the administration and the latter refused, what is the next step they should do? They live in UK.
Answer
Raise this matter with the MCB's Education committee (education@mcb.org.uk).
There have been similar instances in the past, and through discussion and the involvement of parent-governors, these matters have been resolved satisfactorily with the result that Muslim girls have been allowed to attend school wearing the hijab.
Name
Shawkat
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
If a Muslim is denied the right to pray at work or to go to Friday prayer, is there anything in the law to protect him? Can you specify what the law says so we can spread it among Muslims?
Answer
I am pleased to say that since December 2003, as a result of a European Union Directive, discrimination in employment and training on the grounds of religion has been made unlawful.
This means that if your employer refuses your time to go to perform your Friday prayers, you can now take them to an employment tribunal because their actions are clearly discriminating against you on the basis of your faith.
Just take the case to your solicitor and he should be able to gain redress for you, insha' Allah.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Answer
Finally, we would like to thank brother Inayat Bunglawala for speaking to Islamonline viewers today. We also thank all those who participated in this dialogue, and we apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. We remind our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
